Kings sign Drew Doughty

Yeah this is what I was wondering. If the penalty for being under the cap during the season or going into it is to forfeit games, what is the penalty for the cap falling below because of bonuses AFTER the season? Obviously there is no precedent for this, but there has to be some ruling about it. Automatic forfeit next season? Stiff fines? An increased cap floor for that particular team?

I would think that for being below the cap floor that fines would be sufficient. It is not like being below the salary floor would give a team an unfair advantage.

Yeah this is what I was wondering. If the penalty for being under the cap during the season or going into it is to forfeit games, what is the penalty for the cap falling below because of bonuses AFTER the season? Obviously there is no precedent for this, but there has to be some ruling about it. Automatic forfeit next season? Stiff fines? An increased cap floor for that particular team?

The penalty for being under the cap during the season is NOT forfeiture of games.

What is it? We don't know.

The sanctions available (at the discretion of the Commssioner) include:

- Fines of $1M-$5M (which count against the cap)
- Forfeiture of draft picks
- Forfeiture of games (very unlikely)
- Suspension of GM or other club employees

I don't care if you've been lurking on these boards since before the Intarwebz began, nor do I make any assumptions. The point is you called Martyros a "forum newbie" when he is anything but. So it would appear as though you are guilty of what you are trying (and failing) to ridicule me for...

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're not aware of the rules. Even if Doughty makes the Kings in September and can't cut it in the first 10 games, he'll go back to juniors (same as he would if he weren't signed) and it would not count as a year on his contract. In other words, if he's not ready for the NHL, no harm no foul.

If Doughty ends up busting, it'll be at the NHL or AHL level, which would be after the Kings have signed him, not before. The chance of one of the best defensemen (if not the best) in the OHL blowing his fourth year in juniors so badly as to make his pro contract look like a mistake is so low that one would be ridiculed for mentioning it (as you've discovered). Doughty will graduate to the NHL/AHL very soon, and his contract will be waiting when he does. So, you can see that there's really no risk at all in signing him. In fact, there's little risk in signing any of the 2008 1st-round picks right now, since they're pretty much all guaranteed to play in at least the AHL eventually.